PAD - LGED

Annex 6: Governance and Accountability Action Plan
Bangladesh: Second Rural Transport Improvement Project
Objective
1. The Governance and Accountability Action Plan (GAAP) for the proposed Bangladesh
Rural Transport Improvement Project (RTIP-II) is designed to improve the overall risk
management, enhance efficiency and development impact and ensure that allocated resources are
spent for the intended purpose and directed to the beneficiaries. The GAAP, if properly
implemented, will contribute to enhancing efficiency of the institutional organization and
performance of the project as well as strengthening the rural roads sector governance. It will
remain a living document and will be updated as issues emerge or get resolved and additional
mitigation measures are developed during project implementation.
GAAP Methodology
2. The GAAP has been developed jointly by LGED and the Bank. The GAAP is based on
an assessment of the governance risks, including fraud and corruption, in Bangladesh’s rural
road sub-sector and overall country governance context. It is based on the findings of the
Operational Risk Assessment for LGED carried out in 2008 and 2009, the World Bank’s
Transport Sector GAAP Guidance Note, the Bank’s Strategy for improving governance in
Bangladesh laid out in its 2011-2014 Country Assistance Strategy, and the World Bank Integrity
Vice Presidency’s Report “Curbing Fraud, Corruption, and Collusion in the Road Sector.” INT’s
(Institutional Integrity Department) preventive services unit was consulted in defining this
project’s GAAP. The GAAP builds on a number of good governance practices initiated in LGED
under the recently completed Bank funded RTIP-I as well as good practices launched and
promoted by LGED with its own resources. In addition, consultations with project beneficiaries
were undertaken to seek their views on how to improve beneficiary participation in project
implementation and transform a Grievance Redressal Mechanism into a more comprehensive
Suggestion and Complain Mechanism (SCM), one of the governance measures. A new and
improved SCM would open opportunities for the project stakeholders to participate in the
monitoring process of all aspects of project implementation that has been already designed with
mutual consultation.
Country Context
3. Bangladesh has historically scored poorly on international governance indices, albeit with
modest progress in recent years. There are entrenched difficulties in improving public sector
performance. The Government of Bangladesh’s efforts to bolster its legal framework to counter
corruption, including the empowerment of an Anti-Corruption Commission, and joining the UN
Convention against corruption have yet to yield measurable gains. Institutions of accountability
are weak and country systems to deter corruption such as asset statements or prosecution of
corruption cases are rarely enforced. These capacity and governance challenges in Bangladesh’s
public sector, combined with the susceptibility of civil works projects worldwide to fraud and
corruption, emphasize the importance of a GAAP that harnesses a range of sound measures to
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